Lib Dems moot ‘pensions for mortgages’ scheme
Wow. This is really ground breaking. Parents helping their children obtain a mortgage by acting like a guarantor – who would of thought of such a thing! Just amazing, I’ve never heard of such an idea before….
The Lib Dems deserve some sort of prize for coming up with original ideas like this. Genius!
TonyT
24 Sep 2012 | 10:47
Pension-for-house deposit idea ‘half baked’ – Altmann
I cannot see how this will work. Mortgage lenders are usually reluctant to allow the cash sum from pension pots to be used as a repayment vehicle.
Why will they think this scheme is a good idea and how many parents want to possibly compromise their own income potential in the future?
Many people have inadequate provision for retirement as it is or have I missed the point and is this scheme designed for those with gilt edged government pensions in place with guaranteed benefits?
Andrew
24 Sep 2012 | 12:47
Cable attacks ‘anti-business’ banks; backs ‘mansion tax’
If anyone is anti-business it is the Lib Dems. They fail to understand that people need incentives.
On the one hand they avow to help business by providing funding and on the other line up to kick those business owners who have the temerity to be successful. (wealth tax, Mansion tax etc); Joined up thinking at Westminster remains a constant mirage.
Harry Katz
24 Sep 2012 | 19:17
Webb: ‘Pensions for mortgages’ workable by Easter
I sincerely hope messrs Clegg and Webb have done their math homework. A 3% annuity rate doesn’t produce much of an income in retirement.
Reducing the pension fund by up to one-quarter for the children produces an even lower liveable income.
Last time I looked, the proportion of UK work-force contributing to fund maximum benefits was somewhat dire, especially since previous Governments messed about with tax relief and this Government has done nothing to improve it.
Mum and Dad may be willing to help out one child, possibly two. But what if they have more offspring to cater for? And, will their children be in any position to help Mum and Dad who can’t keep warm or buy enough food, when they in-turn are commuting part of their pension as house deposits for their children? This is getting very complicated!
John
25 Sep 2012 | 17:46
Lack of first-time buyer mortgages costs economy £34bn
I have been saying this for years on these forums and no-one is listening. Our economy is built on our property market and with the crash there has been nothing of real value to replace it.
Government have tinkered with ‘newbuy’ but this only helps one sector – the builders and doesn’t release funds of great value into the wider economy.
We need to stimulate the housing market (in a controlled way) by ensuring affordability, responsible lending (3-4 x income as a general guideline coupled with robust affordability calculations) and help first time buyers into their first home and releasing 2nd / 3rd etc. time buyers.
This will do all of what this article says is stifling our economy and release monies to all our benefits. Unfortunately govt and think tanks do not realise that it is the day to day operation of small transactions which affect us and instead talk to out of touch, highly connected Etonian mandarins.
Mike
28 Sep 2012 | 10:10
